Minors raped and abused in Gurgaon orphanage

A scribble in the school notebook of a minor girl has blew the lid off the horror that she and her friends had to undergo at the hands of the caretaker of an orphanage in Gurgaon, Sector 52, for the past over one year. Leena Dhankhar reports.

A scribble in the school notebook of a minor girl has blew the lid off the horror that she and her friends had to undergo at the hands of the caretaker of an orphanage in Gurgaon, Sector 52, for the past over one year.

The teacher at a government school noted the bizarre notes that the class IV girl had made. When she enquired her about them, she told her how the 18-year-old caretaker had been raping and abusing her and other inmates for the past 18 months at 'Suparna Ka Angan' — a shelter home for underprivileged children.

The teacher approached senior police officers and got a complaint registered on Friday evening. Medical test on two girls has confirmed rape. All victims are in the age group of 7-12 years. The Gurgaon police have registered a case of rape.

The accused, Rachit alias Raju, who used to double up as the cook, not only raped and abused the minors but also recorded the acts on his mobile phone and showed them to his friends.

The orphanage, run by an NGO, is situated in the Sector 52 (Wazirabad Village) and was established in 2008. In January 2010, it was registered on a Delhi address. Currently, the orphanage has about 65-70 children, who are offered shelter and informal education there. The NGO prepares these children for getting admissions to the nearby government-run schools.

It was Nisha Yadav, a teacher at the Wazirabad government school, where some of the victims studied, who noticed the scribble. "I saw a note yesterday in Kamna's (name changed) notebook. She had had written about the misdeeds of by the caretaker, Rachit alias Raju. I had complained against Raju to the owner of NGO last year also but she did not take any action. These girls are scared and depressed. I knew there was no point in going to the owner again so I, along with my associates, went to DCP (Crime) and told him what these children have been going through for the last 18 months," Yadav told HT.

Suparna Sethi, the owner of the NGO, said, "I had got a couple of complaints from children and teachers earlier too and had sacked Rachit but due to non-availability of a cook, I had no option but to call him back. He had apologised to me and asked for another chance."

Shalu (name changed), 13, told HT: "Raju had made video of the act with me and three other girls. He used to blackmail us and threaten us that if we told anybody, he would kill us and show our video to people."